The invention concerns functional protein-tyrosine kinase chimeras which are capable of redirecting immune system function. More particularly, it concerns the regulation of lymphocytes, macrophages, natural killer cells, or granulocytes by the expression in said cells of chimeras which cause the cells to respond to targets recognized by the chimeras. The invention also concerns functional protein-tyrosine kinase chimeras which are capable of directing therapeutic cells to specifically recognize and destroy either cells infected with a specific infective agent, the infective agent itself, a tumor cell, or an autoimmune-generated cell. More particularly, the invention relates to the production of protein-tyrosine kinase chimeras capable of directing cytotoxic T lymphocytes to specifically recognize and lyse cells expressing HIV envelope proteins. The invention therefore provides a novel anti-tumor therapy as well as a therapy for diseases such as AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome) which are caused by the HIV virus.
T cell recognition of antigen through the T cell receptor is the basis of a range of immunological phenomena. The T cells direct what is called cell-mediated immunity. This involves the destruction by cells of the immune system of foreign tissues or infected cells. A variety of T cells exist, including xe2x80x9chelperxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9csuppressorxe2x80x9d cells, which modulate the immune response, and cytotoxic (or xe2x80x9ckillerxe2x80x9d) cells, which can kill abnormal cells directly.
A T cell that recognizes and binds a unique antigen displayed on the surface of another cell becomes activated; it can then multiply, and, if it is a cytotoxic cell, it can kill the bound cell.
Autoimmune disease is characterized by production of either antibodies that react with host tissue or immune effector T cells that are autoreactive. In some instances, autoantibodies may arise by a normal T- and B-cell response activated by foreign substances or organisms that contain antigens that cross react with similar compounds in body tissues. Examples of clinically relevant autoantibodies are antibodies against acetylcholine receptors in myasthenia gravis; and anti-DNA, anti-erythrocyte, and anti-platelet antibodies in systemic lupus erythematosus.
HIV and Immunopathogenesis
In 1984 HIV was shown to be the etiologic agent of AIDS. Since that time the definition of AIDS has been revised a number of times with regard to what criteria should be included in the diagnosis. However, despite the fluctuation in diagnostic parameters, the simple common denominator of AIDS is the infection with HIV and subsequent development of persistent constitutional symptoms and AIDS defining diseases such as a secondary infections, neoplasms, and neurologic disease. Harrison""s Principles of Internal Medicine, 12th ed., McGraw Hill (1991).
HIV is a human retrovirus of the lentivirus group. The four recognized human retroviruses belong to two distinct groups: the human T lymphotropic (or leukemia) retroviruses, HTLV-1 and HTLV-2, and the human immunodeficiency viruses, HIV-1 and HIV-2. The former are transforming viruses whereas the latter are cytopathic viruses.
HIV-1 has been identified as the most common cause of AIDS throughout the world. Sequence homology between HIV-2 and HIV-1 is about 40% with HIV-2 being more closely related to some members of a group of simian immunodeficiency viruses (SIV). See Curran et al., Science 329:1357-1359 (1985); Weiss et al., Nature 324:572-575 (1986).
HIV has the usual retroviral genes (env, gag, and pol) as well as six extra genes involved in the replication and other biologic activities of the virus. As stated previously, the common denominator of AIDS is a profound immunosuppression, predominantly of cell-mediated immunity. This immune suppression leads to a variety of opportunistic diseases, particularly certain infections and neoplasms.
The main cause of the immune defect in AIDS, has been identified as a quantitative and qualitative deficiency in the subset of thymus-derived (T) lymphocytes, the T4 population. This subset of cells is defined phenotypically by the presence of the CD4 surface molecule, which has been demonstrated to be the cellular receptor for HIV. Dalgleish et al., Nature 312:763 (1984). Although the T4 cell is the major cell type infected with HIV, essentially any human cell that expresses the CD4 molecule on its surface is capable of binding to and being infected with HIV.
Traditionally, CD4+ T cells have been assigned the role of helper/inducer, indicating their function in providing an activating signal to B cells, or inducing T lymphocytes bearing the reciprocal CD8 marker to become cytotoxic/suppressor cells. Reinherz and Schlossman, Cell 19:821-827 (1980); Goldstein et al., Immunol. Rev. 68:5-42, (1982).
HIV binds specifically and with high affinity, via a stretch of amino acids in the viral envelope (gp120), to a portion of the V1 region of the CD4 molecule located near its N-terminus. Following binding, the virus fuses with the target cell membrane and is internalized. Once internalized it uses the enzyme reverse transcriptase to transcribe its genomic RNA to DNA, which is integrated into the cellular DNA where it exists for the life or the cell as a xe2x80x9cprovirus.xe2x80x9d
The provirus may remain latent or be activated to transcribe mRNA and genomic RNA, leading to protein synthesis, assembly, new virion formation, and budding of virus from the cell surface. Although the precise mechanism by which the virus induces cell death has not been established, it is felt that the major mechanism is massive viral budding from the cell surface, leading to disruption of the plasma membrane and resulting osmotic disequilibrium.
During the course of the infection, the host organism develops antibodies against viral proteins, including the major envelope glycoproteins gp120 and gp41. Despite this humoral immunity, the disease progresses, resulting in a lethal immunosuppression characterized by multiple opportunistic infections, parasitemia, dementia and death. The failure of the host anti-viral antibodies to arrest the progression of the disease represents one of the most vexing and alarming aspects of the infection, and augurs poorly for vaccination efforts based upon conventional approaches.
Two factors may play a role in the efficacy of the humoral response to immunodeficiency viruses. First, like other RNA viruses (and like retroviruses in particular), the immunodeficiency viruses show a high mutation rate in response to host immune surveillance. Second, the envelope glycoproteins themselves are heavily glycosylated molecules presenting few epitopes suitable for high affinity antibody binding. The poorly antigenic target which the viral envelope presents, allows the host little opportunity for restricting viral infection by specific antibody production.
Cells infected by the HIV virus express the gp120 glycoprotein on their surface. Gp120 mediates fusion events among CD4+ cells via a reaction similar to that by which the virus enters the uninfected cells, leading to the formation of short-lived multinucleated giant cells. Syncytium formation is dependent on a direct interaction of the gp120 envelope glycoprotein with the CD4 protein. Dalgleish et al., supra; Klatzman et al., Nature 312:763 (1984); McDougal et al., Science 231:382 (1986); Sodroski et al., Nature 322:470 (1986); Lifson et al., Nature, 323:725 (1986); Sodroski et al., Nature 321:412 (1986).
Evidence that the CD4-gp120 binding is responsible for viral infection of cells bearing the CD4 antigen includes the finding that a specific complex is formed between gp120 and CD4 (McDougal et al., supra). Other investigators have shown that the cell lines, which were noninfective for HIV, were converted to infectable cell lines following transfection and expression of the human CD4 cDNA gene. Maddon et al., Cell 46:333-348 (1986).
Therapeutic programs based on soluble CD4 as a passive agent to interfere with viral adsorption and syncytium-mediated cellular transmission have been proposed and successfully demonstrated in vitro by a number of groups (Deen et al., Nature 3321:82-84 (1988); Fisher et al., Nature 331:76-78 (1988); Hussey et al., Nature 331:78-81 (1988); Smith et al., Science 238:1704-1707 (1987); Traunecker et al., Nature 331:84-86 (1988)); and CD4 immunoglobulin fusion proteins with extended half-lives and modest biological activity have subsequently been developed (Capon et al., Nature 337:525-531 (1989); Traunecker et al. Nature 339, 68-70 (1989); Byrn et al., Nature 344:667-670 (1990); Zettlmeissl et al., DNA Cell Biol. 9:347-353 (1990)). Although CD4 immunotoxin conjugates or fusion proteins show potent cytotoxicity for infected cells in vitro (Chaudhary et al., Nature 335:369-372 (1988); Till et al., Science 242:1166-1168 (1988)), the latency of the immunodeficiency syndrome makes it unlikely that any single-treatment therapy will be effective in eliminating viral burden, and the antigenicity of foreign fusion proteins is likely to limit their acceptability in treatments requiring repetitive dosing. Trials with monkeys affected with SIV have shown that soluble CD4, if administered to animals without marked CD4 cytopenia, can reduce SIV titer and improve in vitro measures of myeloid potential (Watanabe et al., Nature 337:267-270 (1989)). However a prompt viral reemergence was observed after treatment was discontinued, suggesting that lifelong administration might be necessary to prevent progressive immune system debilitation.
Cell Surface Receptor-Associated Protein-Tyrosine Kinases
The initial impetus for engagement of cellular effector programs in the immune system is often cell recognition of clustered ligands. Among the receptors known to transmit activating signals upon aggregation are the B cell and T cell antigen receptors (DeFranco, Eur. J. Biochem. 210:381-388 (1992); Weiss, Annu. Rev. Genet. 25:487-510 (1991)), members of the IgG and IgE Fc receptor families (Fanger et al., Immunol. Today 10:92-99 (1989); Ravetch and Kinet, Annu. Rev. Immunol. 9:457-492 (1991)) and a number of accessory receptors, including CD2, CD4, CD8, and CD28 in T cells (Yokoyama and Shevach, Year Immunol. 4:110-146 (1989)), CD19, CD20, CD21, and CD40 in B cells (Clark and Ledbetter, Adv. Cancer Res. 52:81-149 (1989)), and CD44, CD45, and CD58 in monocytes (Webb et al., Science 249:1295-1297 (1990)). In addition, a large number of phospholipid linked proteins promote cellular activation in an antigen receptor-dependent manner when crosslinked on the surface of T cells (Balk and Terhorst, Immunol. Ser. 45:411-416 (1989); Kroczek et al., Nature 322:181-184 (1986); Yeh et al., J. Immunol. 138:91-97 (1987); Yokoyama and Shevach, Year Immunol. 4:110-146 (1989)).
At present it is not clear how a simple physical event, aggregation, results in a clearly distinguished physiological signal. Engagement of cellular effector programs mediated by the T cell and B cell antigen receptors, and various forms of Fc receptor, can be mimicked by crosslinking of chimeric proteins bearing the intracellular domains of individual chains of the receptor complexes (Irving and Weiss, Cell 64:891-901 (1991); Kolanus et al., EMBO J. 11:4861-4868 (1992); Letourneur and Klausner, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 88:8905-8909 (1991); Letourneur and Klausner, Science 255:79-82 (1992); Romeo and Seed, Cell 64:1037-1046 (1991); Wegener et al., Cell 68:83-95 (1992)). The minimal effective trigger element appears to require a phylogenetically conserved (Reth, Nature 338:383-384 (1989)) peptide sequence containing two tyrosine residues separated by 10 or 11 residues and embedded in a hydrophilic, typically acidic context (Romeo et al., Cell 68:889-897 (1992); Irving et al., J. Exp. Med. 177, 1093-1103 (1993)). Clustering of receptors bearing this element initiates an activation cascade for which protein tyrosine kinase (PTK) activity appears to be essential; PTK inhibitors block both early events in B and T cell activation such as calcium mobilization and the later sequelae of cytokine release and cellular proliferation (June et al., J. Immunol. 144:1591-1599 (1990); Lane et al., J. Immunol. 146:715-722 (1991); Mustelin et al., Science 247:1584-1587 (1990); Stanley et al., J. Immunol. 145:2189-2198 (1990)). Although the more distal consequences of receptor activation differ according to cell type, the early events are strikingly similar among cells from disparate hematopoietic lineages. For example the rapid increases in PTK activity observed following crosslinking of the B cell antigen receptor (Gold et al., Nature 345:810-813 (1990); Campbell and Sefton, EMBO J. 9:2125-2131 (1990)), the T cell antigen receptor (June et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 87:7722-7726 (1990); June et al., J. Immunol. 144:1591-1599 (1990)) and the high affinity IgE receptor (Eiseman and Bolen, Nature 355:78-80 (1992); Li et al., Mol. Cell. Biol. 12:3176-3182 (1992)) all have among their early phosphorylation targets the xcex3 isoform of phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C (Carter et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 88:2745-2749 (1991); Li et al., Mol. Cell Biol. 12:3176-3182 (1992); Park et al., J. Biol. Chem. 266:24237-24240 (1991); Park et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 88:5453-5456 (1991); Secrist et al., J. Biol. Chem. 266:12135-12139 (1991); Weiss et al., Annu. Rev. Genet. 25:487-510 (1991)), which is directly activated by tyrosine phosphorylation (Nishibe et al., Science 250:1253-1256 (1990)).
The PTK activities known thus far to associate with cell surface receptors fall in two classes: those belonging to the family of Src proto-oncogene-related kinases and those related to the recently characterized Syk kinase. Among the former, the Fyn kinase has been shown to associate with the T cell receptor (Gassmann et al., Eur. J. Immunol. 22:283-286 (1992); Samelson et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 87:4358-4362 (1990)), the Lyn, Fyn, Blk, and Lck kinases have been reported to associate with the B cell IgM receptor, (Burkhardt et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 88:7410-7414 (1991); Campbell and Sefton, Mol. Cell. Biol. 12:2315-2321 (1992); Yamanashi et al., Science 251:192-194 (1991)), and the Lyn and Yes kinases have been shown to associate with the high affinity IgE receptor (Eiseman and Bolen, Nature 355:78-80 (1992); Hutchcroft et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 89:9107-9111 (1992); Hutchcroft et al., J. Biol. Chem. 267:8613-8619 (1992)). The mechanism of the observed association has not been established in detail, but preliminary data suggest that the intracellular domains of receptor complex chains may physically associate with Src family kinases (Clark et al., Science 258:123-126 (1992); Timson Gauen et al., Mol. Cell. Biol. 12:5438-5446 (1992)). At present it is not clear whether these associations are direct or indirect.
To date, the most compelling evidence for the importance of Src family kinases in cell activation has been developed from the study of the Fyn and Lck kinases in T cells. Overexpression of Fyn in transgenic mice leads to an antigen hyperresponsive phenotype in the resulting T cells, while overexpression of a catalytically inactive form blocks T cell receptor mediated proliferation (Cooke et al., Cell 65:281-291 (1991)). Thymic T cells isolated from mutant mice lacking Fyn kinase activity show a profound defect in the ability to mount a proliferative response in response to treatment with a combination of phorbol ester plus either anti-CD3 antibody or Concanavalin A (Appleby et al., Cell 70:751-763 (1992); Stein et al., Cell 70:741-750 (1992)). Splenic T cells isolated from such mice show a less severe, but substantial, attenuation of the cell activation response (Appleby et al., Cell 70:751-763 (1992); Stein et al., Cell 70:741-750 (1992)).
In T cells the Lck kinase associates indirectly with the TCR through the CD4 and CD8 coreceptors (Rudd et al., Proc. Matl. Acad. Sci. USA 85:5190-5194 (1988); Shaw et al., Cell 59:627-636 (1989); Turner et al., Cell 60:755-765 (1990); Veillette et al., Cell 55:301-308 (1988)). Overexpression of Lck in an antigen-responsive cell line potentiates receptor sensitivity in similar fashion to that seen with Fyn (Abraham and Veillette, Mol. Cell. Biol. 10:5197-5206 (1990); Davidson et al., J. Exp. Med. 175:1483-1492 (1982); Luo and Sefton, Mol. Cell. Biol. 12:4724-4732 (1992)). In a CD4-dependent murine T cell hybridoma model, reconstitution of antigen-specific helper function could be achieved only with CD4 molecules which were capable of interacting with Lck (Glaichenhaus et al., Cell 64:511-520 (1991)).
However the strongest evidence for the direct participation of the Lck kinase in antigen receptor-mediated signalling comes from studies of mutant cell lines which at lack Lck. Two such lines have been studied, one derived from the Jurkat human T cell leukemia line (Goldsmith and Weiss, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 84:6879-6883 (1987); Straus and Weiss, Cell 70:585-593 (1992)) and the other from the murine cytotoxic T cell clone CTLL-2 (Karnitz et al., Mol. Cell. Biol. 12:4521-4530 (1992)). Both Lck-negative mutant lines are defective in TCR mediated signalling, and complementation of either mutant line by transfection with an Lck expression plasmid restores responsiveness to TCR crosslinking stimuli (Karnitz et al., Mol. Cell. Biol. 12:4521-4530 (1992); Straus and Weiss, Cell 70:585-593 (1992)).
Recently members of a new family of tyrosine kinases, initially represented by the closely related or identical kinases Syk (Taniguchi et al., J. Biol. Chem. 266:15790-15796 (1991)) and PTK 72 (Zioncheck et al., J. Biol. Chem. 261:15637-15643 (1986); Zioncheck et al., J. Biol. Chem. 263:19195-19202 (1988)), have been to shown to associate with cell surface receptors. Although PTK 72 and Syk have not been definitively proven to be identical, they share a common tissue distribution (thymus and spleen), molecular mass, and lability to proteolysis. PTK 72 has been shown to associate with the B cell IgM receptor (Hutchcroft et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 89:9107-9111 (1992); Hutchcroft et al., J. Biol. Chem. 267:8613-8619 (1992)) and to be phosphorylated upon crosslinking of the receptor with anti-IgM (Hutchcroft et al., J. Biol. Chem, 266:14846-14849 (1991)). A concomitant activation of the enzyme, as measured by both autophosphorylation and phosphorylation of an exogenous protein fragment, was demonstrated following surface IgM crosslinking (Hutchcroft et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 89:9107-9111 (1992); Hutchcroft et al., J. Biol. Chem. 267:8613-8619 (1992)). PTK 72 is also found associated with the high affinity IgE receptor in a rat basophilic leukemia cell line (Hutchcroft et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 89:9107-9111 (1992); Hutchcroft et al., J. Biol. Chem. 27:8613-8619 (1992)).
A second member of the Syk family, ZAP-70, has been shown to be a PTK associating with the zeta chain of the T cell receptor following receptor crosslinking (Chan et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 88:9166-9170 (1991)). Although expression in COS cells of ZAP-70, Fyn or Lck leads to modest increases in total cell tyrosine phosphate, coexpression of ZAP-70 and either Lck or Fyn leads to a dramatic increase in net tyrosine phosphorylation (Chan et al., Cell 71:649-662 (1992)). If a CD8-zeta chain chimera is also present, the chimera becomes phosphorylated and ZAP-70 is found associated with it (Chan et al., Cell 71:649-662 (1992)). At present it is not clear whether ZAP-70 activates the Src family kinases and/or vice versa, nor why coexpression of kinases in COS cells should lead to an apparent constitutive activation. Nonetheless the active association of ZAP-70 with crosslinked TCR suggests a role for this PTK in the propagation of the receptor response.
Unlike the Src family kinases, Syk and ZAP-70 bear two SH2 domains and no N-terminal myristoylation site (Taniguchi et al., J. Biol. Chem. 266:15790-15796 (1991); Chan et al., Cell 71:649-662 (1992)). A natural expectation for the mechanism of kinase-receptor association is that the two SH2 domains bind the two tyrosines of the antigen receptor trigger motifs once they are phosphorylated. However, at present this remains merely a hypothesis.
The present invention demonstrates the feasibility of creating chimeras between the intracellular domain of a protein-tyrosine kinase molecule and an extracellular domain which is capable of fulfilling the task of target recognition. In particular, clustering of chimeras bearing Syk or ZAP-70 kinase sequences triggers calcium mobilization. Aggregation of Syk chimera alone, or coaggregation of chimeras bearing Fyn or Lck and ZAP-70 kinases, suffices to initiate cytolytic effector function. Such effector function facilitates the specific recognition and destruction of undesirable target cells, for example, pathogens, pathegen-infected cells, tumor cells, or autoimmune cells.
Any number of useful chimeric molecules according to the invention may be constructed. For example, the formation of chimeras consisting of the intracellular portion of a protein-tyrosine kinase joined to the extracellular portion of a suitably engineered antibody molecule allows the target recognition potential of an immune system cell to be specifically redirected to the antigen recognized by the extracellular antibody portion. Thus with an antibody portion capable of recognizing some determinant on the surface of a pathogen, immune system cells armed with the chimera would respond to the presence of the pathogen with the effector program appropriate to their lineage, e.g., helper T lymphocytes would respond by cytotoxic activity against the target, and B lymphocytes would be activated to synthesize antibody. Macrophages and granulocytes would carry out their effector programs, including cytokine release, phagocytosis, and reactive oxygen generation. Similarly, with an antibody portion capable of recognizing tumor cells, the immune system response to the tumor would be beneficially elevated. With an antibody capable of recognizing immune cells having an inappropriate reactivity with self determinants, the autoreactive cells could be selectively targeted for destruction.
Although these examples draw on the use of antibody chimeras as a convenient expository tool, the invention is not limited in scope to antibody chimeras, and indeed, the use of specific nonantibody extracellular domains may have important advantages. For example with an extracellular portion that is the receptor for a virus, bacterium, or parasite, cells armed with the chimeras would specifically target cells expressing the viral, bacterial or parasitic determinants. The advantage of this approach over the use of antibodies is that the native receptor for pathogen may have uniquely high selectivity or affinity for the pathogen, allowing a greater degree of precision in the resulting immune response. Similarly, to delete immune system cells which inappropriately react with a self antigen, it may suffice to join the antigen (either as an intact protein, in the case of B cell depletion therapies, or as MHC complex, in the case of T cell depletion therapies) to intracellular protein-tyrosine kinase chains, and thereby affect the specific targeting of the cells inappropriately responding to self determinants.
Another use of the chimeras is the control of cell populations in vivo subsequent to other forms of genetic engineering. For example, the use of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes or natural killer cells to carry cytotoxic principles to the site of tumors has been proposed. The present invention provides a convenient means to regulate the numbers and activity of such lymphocytes and cells without removing them from the body of the patient for amplification in vitro. Thus, because the intracellular domains of the chimeric receptors mediate the proliferative responses of the cells, the coordination of the extracellular domains by a variety of aggregating stimuli specific for the extracellular domains (e.g., an antibody specific for the extracellular domain) will result in proliferation of the cells bearing the chimeras.
Although the specific embodiments of the present invention comprise chimeras between the Syk or Syk and Src families of protein-tyrosine kinases, any tyrosine kinase having a similar function to these molecules could be used for the purposes disclosed here. The distinguishing features of desirable immune cell trigger molecules comprise the ability to be expressed autonomously, the ability to be fused to an extracellular domain (directly or indirectly through a transmembrane domain) such that the resultant chimera is present on the surface of a therapeutic cell, and the ability to initiate cellular effector programs upon aggregation secondary to encounter with a target ligand.
At present the most convenient method for delivery of the chimeras to immune system cells is through some form of genetic therapy. However, reconstituting immune system cells with chimeric receptors by mixture of the cells with suitably solubilized purified chimeric protein would also result in the formation of an engineered cell population capable of responding to the targets recognized by the extracellular domain of the chimeras. Similar approaches have been used, for example, to introduce the intact HIV receptor, CD4, into erythrocytes for therapeutic purposes. In this case the engineered cell population would not be capable of self renewal.
The present invention relates to functional simplified protein-tyrosine kinase chimeras which are capable of redirecting immune system function. More particularly, it relates to the regulation of lymphocytes, macrophages, natural killer cells, or granulocytes by the expression in said cells of chimeras which cause the cells to respond to targets recognized by the chimeras. The invention also relates to a method of directing cellular responses to an infective agent, a tumor or cancerous cell, or an autoimmune-generated cell. The method for directing the cellular response in a mammal comprises administering an effective amount of therapeutic cells to said mammal, said cells being capable of recognizing and destroying said infective agent, tumor, cancer cell, or autoimmune-generated cell. The cellular response may be mediated by a single chimera or may be the result of cooperation between multiple chimeras (for example, a set of two or more chimeras, one of which includes a CD28 intracellular domain).
In another embodiment, the method of directing a cellular response to an infective agent comprises administering therapeutic cells capable of recognizing and destroying said agent, wherein the agent is a specific virus, bacteria, protozoa, or fungi. Even more specifically, the method is directed against agents such as HIV and Pneumocystis carinii. 
To treat an HIV infection, an effective amount of chimeric-receptor expression cytotoxic T lymphocytes are administered to a patient; the lymphocytes are capable of specifically recognizing and lysing cells infected with HIV as well as circulating virus.
Thus, in one embodiment, there is provided according to the invention a method for directing cellular response to HIV infected cells, comprising administering to a patient an effective amount of cytotoxic T lymphocytes which are capable of specifically recognizing and lysing cells infected with HIV.
In yet another embodiment is provided the chimeric receptor proteins which direct the cytotoxic T lymphocytes to recognize and lyse the HIV-infected cell. Yet another embodiment of the invention comprises host cells transformed with a vector comprising the chimeric receptors.
A number of methods for constructing and expressing chimeric immune receptors as well as a variety of therapeutic uses thereof are explained in detail in U.S. Ser. Nos. 07/847,566 and 07/665,961, hereby incorporated by reference.
These and other non-limiting embodiments of the present invention will be apparent to those of skill from the following detailed description of the invention.
In the following detailed description, reference will be made to various methodologies known to those of skill in the art of molecular biology and immunology. Publications and other materials setting forth such known methodologies to which reference is made are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties as though set forth in full.
Standard reference works setting forth the general principles of recombinant DNA technology include Watson et al., Molecular Biology of the Gene, volumes I and II, the Benjamin/Cummings Publishing Company, Inc., publisher, Menlo Park, Calif. (1987); Darnell et al., Molecular Cell Biology, Scientific American Books, Inc., publisher, New York, N.Y. (1986); Lewin, Genes II, John Wiley and Sons, publishers, New York, N.Y. (1985); Old et al., Principles of Gene Manipulation: An Introduction to Genetic Engineering, 2nd edition, University of California Press, publisher, Berkeley, Calif. (1981); Maniatis et al., Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual, 2nd ed. Cold spring Harbor Laboratory, publisher, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. (1989); and Ausubel et al., Current Protocols in Molecular Biology, Wiley Press, New York, N.Y. (1989).
Definitions
By xe2x80x9ccloningxe2x80x9d is meant the use of in vitro recombination techniques to insert a particular gene or other DNA sequence into a vector molecule. In order to successfully clone a desired gene, it is necessary to employ methods for generating DNA fragments for joining the fragments to vector molecules, for introducing the composite DNA molecule into a host cell in which it can replicate, and for selecting the clone having the target gene from amongst the recipient host cells.
By xe2x80x9ccDNAxe2x80x9d is meant complementary or copy DNA produced from an RNA template by the action of RNA-dependent DNA polymerase (reverse transcriptase). Thus a xe2x80x9ccDNA clonexe2x80x9d means a duplex DNA sequence complementary to an RNA molecule of interest, carried in a cloning vector.
By xe2x80x9ccDNA libraryxe2x80x9d is meant a collection of recombinant DNA molecules containing cDNA inserts which comprise DNA copies of mRNA being expressed by the cell at the time the cDNA library was made. Such a cDNA library may be prepared by methods known to those of skill, and described, for example, in Maniatis et al., Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual, supra. Generally, RNA is first isolated from the cells of an organism from whose genome it is desired to clone a particular gene. Preferred for the purpose of the present invention are mammalian, and particularly human, lymphocytic cell lines. A presently preferred vector for this purpose is the vaccinia virus WR strain.
By xe2x80x9cvectorxe2x80x9d is meant a DNA molecule derived, e.g., from a plasmid, bacteriophage, or mammalian or insect virus, into which fragments of DNA may be inserted or cloned. A vector will contain one or more unique restriction sites and may be capable of autonomous replication in a defined host or vehicle organism such that the cloned sequence is reproducible. Thus, by xe2x80x9cDNA expression vectorxe2x80x9d is meant any autonomous element capable of directing the synthesis of a recombinant peptide. Such DNA expression vectors include bacterial plasmids and phages and mammalian and insect plasmids and viruses.
By xe2x80x9csubstantially purexe2x80x9d is meant a compound, e.g., a protein, a polypeptide, or an antibody, that is substantially free of the components that naturally accompany it. Generally, a compound is substantially pure when at least 60%, more preferably at least 75%, and most preferably at least 90% of the total material in a sample is the compound of interest. Purity can be measured by any appropriate method, e.g., column chromatography, polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, or HPLC analysis. In the context of a nucleic acid, xe2x80x9csubstantially purexe2x80x9d means a nucleic acid sequence, segment, or fragment that is not immediately contiguous with (i.e., covalently linked to) both of the coding sequences with which it is immediately contiguous (i.e., one at the 5xe2x80x2 end and one at the 3xe2x80x2 end) in the naturally occurring genome of the organism from which the DNA of the invention is derived.
By xe2x80x9cfunctional derivativexe2x80x9d is meant the xe2x80x9cfragments,xe2x80x9d xe2x80x9cvariants,xe2x80x9d xe2x80x9canalogues,xe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cchemical derivativesxe2x80x9d of a molecule. A xe2x80x9cfragmentxe2x80x9d of a molecule, such as any of the cDNA sequences of the present invention, is meant to refer to any nucleotide subset of the molecule. A xe2x80x9cvariantxe2x80x9d of such molecule is meant to refer to a naturally occurring molecule substantially similar to either the entire molecule, or a fragment thereof. An xe2x80x9canalogxe2x80x9d of a molecule is meant to refer to a non-natural molecule substantially similar to either the entire molecule or a fragment thereof. A molecule is said to be xe2x80x9csubstantially similarxe2x80x9d to another molecule if the sequence of amino acids in both molecules is substantially the same. In particular, a xe2x80x9csubstantially similarxe2x80x9d amino acid sequence is one that exhibits at least 50%, preferably 85%, and most preferably 95% amino acid sequence identity to the natural or reference sequence and/or one that differs from the natural or reference amino acid sequence only by conservative amino acid substitutions. Substantially similar amino acid molecules will possess a similar biological activity. Thus, provided that two molecules possess a similar activity, they are considered variants as that term is used herein even if one of the molecules contains additional or fewer amino acid residues not found in the other, or if the sequence of amino acid residues is not identical. As used herein, a molecule is said to be a xe2x80x9cchemical derivativexe2x80x9d of another molecule when it contains additional chemical moieties not normally a part of the molecule. Such moieties may improve the molecule""s solubility, absorption, biological half life, etc. The moieties may alternatively decrease the toxicity of the molecule, eliminate or attenuate any undesirable side effect of the molecule, etc. Moieties capable of mediating such effects are disclosed, for example, in Remington""s Pharmaceutical Sciences, 16th ed., Mack Publishing Co., Easton, Pa. (1980).
Similarly, a xe2x80x9cfunctional derivativexe2x80x9d of a receptor chimera gene of the present invention is meant to include xe2x80x9cfragments,xe2x80x9d xe2x80x9cvariants,xe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9canaloguesxe2x80x9d of the gene, which may be xe2x80x9csubstantially similarxe2x80x9d in nucleotide sequence, and which encode a molecule possessing similar activity to a protein-tyrosine kinase chimera. xe2x80x9cSubstantially similarxe2x80x9d nucleic acids encode substantially similar amino acid sequences (as defined above) and also may include any nucleic acid sequence capable of hybridizing to the natural or reference nucleic acid sequence under appropriate hybridization conditions (see, for example, Ausubel et al., Current Protocols in Molecular Biology, Wiley Press, New York, N.Y. (1989) for appropriate hybridization stringency conditions).
Thus, as used herein, a protein-tyrosine kinase chimera protein is also meant to include any functional derivative, fragments, variants, analogues, or chemical derivatives which may be substantially similar to the xe2x80x9cwild-typexe2x80x9d chimera and which possess similar activity (i.e., most preferably, 90%, more preferably, 70%, preferably 40%, or at least 10% of the wild-type receptor chimera""s activity). The activity of a functional chimeric receptor derivative includes specific binding (with its extracellular portion) to a targeted agent or cell and resultant destruction (directed by its intracellular portion) of that agent or cell; such activity may be tested, e.g., using any of the assays described herein.
A DNA sequence encoding the chimera of the present invention, or its functional derivatives, may be recombined with vector DNA in accordance with conventional techniques, including blunt-ended or staggered-ended termini for ligation, restriction enzyme digestion to provide appropriate termini, filling in of cohesive ends as appropriate, alkaline phosphatase treatment to avoid undesirable joining, and ligation with appropriate ligases. Techniques for such manipulations are disclosed by Maniatis et al., supra, and are well known in the art.
A nucleic acid molecule, such as DNA, is said to be xe2x80x9ccapable of expressingxe2x80x9d a polypeptide if it contains nucleotide sequences which contain transcriptional and translational regulatory information, and such sequences are xe2x80x9coperably linkedxe2x80x9d to nucleotide sequences which encode the polypeptide. An operable linkage is a linkage in which the regulatory DNA sequences and the DNA sequence sought to be expressed are connected in such a way as to permit gene expression. The precise nature of the regulatory regions needed for gene expression may vary from organism to organism, but shall in general include a promoter region which, in prokaryotes, contains both the promoter (which directs the initiation of RNA transcription) as well as the DNA sequences which, when transcribed into RNA, will signal the initiation of protein synthesis. Such regions will normally include those 5xe2x80x2-non-coding sequences involved with initiation of transcription and translation, such as the TATA box, capping sequence, CAAT sequence, and the like.
If desired, the non-coding region 3xe2x80x2 to the gene sequence coding for the protein may be obtained by the above-described methods. This region may be retained for its transcriptional termination regulatory sequences, such as termination and polyadenylation. Thus, by retaining the 3xe2x80x2-region naturally contiguous to the DNA sequence coding for the protein, the transcriptional termination signals may be provided. Where the transcriptional termination signals are not satisfactorily functional in the expression host cell, then a 3xe2x80x2 region functional in the host cell may be substituted.
Two DNA sequences (such as a promoter region sequence and a protein-tyrosine kinase chimera-encoding sequence) are said to be operably linked if the nature of the linkage between the two DNA sequences does not (1) result in the introduction of a frame-shift mutation, (2) interfere with the ability of the promoter region sequence to direct the transcription of the receptor chimera gene sequence, or (3) interfere with the ability of the receptor chimera gene sequence to be transcribed by the promoter region sequence. A promoter region would be operably linked to a DNA sequence if the promoter were capable of effecting transcription of that DNA sequence. Thus, to express the protein, transcriptional and translational signals recognized by an appropriate host are necessary.
The present invention encompasses the expression of a protein-tyrosine kinase chimera protein (or a functional derivative thereof) in either prokaryotic or eukaryotic cells, although eukaryotic (and, particularly, human lymphocyte) expression is preferred.
Antibodies according to the present invention may be prepared by any of a variety of methods. For example, cells expressing the receptor chimera protein, or a functional derivative thereof, can be administered to an animal in order to induce the production of sera containing polyclonal antibodies that are capable of binding the chimera.
In a preferred method, antibodies according to the present invention are monoclonal antibodies. Such monoclonal antibodies can be prepared using hybridoma technology (Kohler et al., Nature 256:495 (1975); Kohler et al., Eur. J. Immunol. 6:511 (1976); Kohler et al., Eur. J. Immunol. 6:292 (1976); Hammerling et al., In: Monoclonal Antibodies and T-Cell Hybridomas, Elsevier, N.Y., pp. 563-684 (1981)). In general, such procedures involve immunizing an animal with the chimera antigen. The splenocytes of such animals are extracted and fused with a suitable myeloma cell line. Any suitable myeloma cell line may be employed in accordance with the present invention. After fusion, the resulting hybridoma cells are selectively maintained in HAT medium, and then cloned by limiting dilution as described by (Wands et al. Gastroenterology 80:225-232 (1981)). The hybridoma cells obtained through such a selection are then assayed to identify clones which secrete antibodies capable of binding the chimera.
Antibodies according to the present invention also may be polyclonal, or, preferably, region specific polyclonal antibodies.
Antibodies against the chimera according to the present invention may be used to monitor the amount of chimeric receptor (or chimeric receptor-bearing cells) in a patient. Such antibodies are well suited for use in standard immunodiagnostic assays known in the art, including such immunometric or xe2x80x9csandwichxe2x80x9d assays as the forward sandwich, reverse sandwich, and simultaneous sandwich assays. The antibodies may be used in any number of combinations as may be determined by those of skill without undue experimentation to effect immunoassays of acceptable specificity, sensitivity, and accuracy.
Standard reference works setting forth general principles of immunology include Roitt, Essential Immunology, 6th ed., Blackwell Scientific publications, publisher, Oxford (1988); Kimball, Introduction to Immunology, 2nd ed., Macmillan Publishing Co., publisher, New York (1986); Roitt et al., Immunology, Gower Medical Publishing Ltd., publisher, London, (1985); Campbell, xe2x80x9cMonoclonal Antibody Technology,xe2x80x9d in Burdon et al., eds., Laboratory Techniques in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, volume 13, Elsevier, publisher, Amsterdam (1984); Klein, Immunology: The Science of Self-Nonself Discrimination, John Wiley and Sons, publisher, New York (1982); and Kennett et al., eds., Monoclonal Antibodies. Hybridoma: A New Dimension In Biological Analyses, Plenum Press, publisher, New York (1980).
By xe2x80x9cdetectingxe2x80x9d it is intended to include determining the presence or absence of a substance or quantifying the amount of a substance. The term thus refers to the use of the materials, compositions, and methods of the present invention for qualitative and quantitative determinations.
The isolation of other hybridomas secreting monoclonal antibodies of the same specificity as those described herein can be accomplished by the technique of anti-idiotypic screening (Potocmjak et al., Science 2:1637 (1982)). Briefly, an anti-idiotypic antibody is an antibody which recognizes unique determinants present on the antibody produced by the clone of interest. The anti-idiotypic antibody is prepared by immunizing an animal of the same strain used as the source of the monoclonal antibody with the monoclonal antibody of interest. The immunized animal will recognize and respond to the idiotypic determinants of the immunizing antibody by producing antibody to these idiotypic determinants (anti-idiotypic antibody).
For replication, the hybrid cells may be cultivated both in vitro and in vivo. High in vivo production makes this the presently preferred method of culture. Briefly, cells from the individual hybrid strains are injected intraperitoneally into pristane-primed BALB/c mice to produce ascites fluid containing high concentrations of the desired monoclonal antibodies. Monoclonal antibodies of isotype IgM or IgG may be purified from cultured supernatants using column chromatography methods well known to those of skill in the art.
Antibodies according to the present invention are particularly suited for use in immunoassays wherein they may be utilized in liquid phase or bound to a solid phase carrier. In addition, the antibodies in these immunoassays can be detectably labeled in various ways.
There are many different labels and methods of labeling known in the art. Examples of the types of labels which can be used in the present invention include, but are not limited to, enzymes, radioisotopes, fluorescent compounds, chemiluminescent compounds, bioluminescent compounds, and metal chelates. Those of ordinary skill in the art will know of other suitable labels for binding to antibodies, or will be able to ascertain the same by the use of routine experimentation. Furthermore, the binding of these labels to antibodies can be accomplished using standard techniques commonly known to those of ordinary skill in the art.
A one of the ways in which antibodies according to the present invention can be detectably labeled is by linking the antibody to an enzyme. This enzyme, in turn, when later exposed to its substrate, will react with the substrate in such a manner as to produce a chemical moiety which can be detected as, for example, by spectrophotometric or fluorometric means. Examples of enzymes which can be used to detectably label antibodies include malate dehydrogenase, staphylococcal nuclease, delta-V-steroid isomerase, yeast alcohol dehydrogenase, alpha-glycerophosphate dehydrogenase, triose phosphate isomerase, biotinavidin peroxidase, horseradish peroxidase, alkaline phosphatase, asparaginase, glucose oxidase, xcex2-galactosidase, ribonuclease, urease, catalase, glucose-VI-phosphate dehydrogenase, glucoamylase, and acetylcholine esterase.
The presence of detectably labeled antibodies also can be detected by labeling the antibodies with a radioactive isotope which then can be determined by such means as the use of a gamma counter or a scintillation counter. Isotopes which are particularly useful for the purpose of the present invention are 3H, 125I 32P, 35S, 14C, 51Cr, 36Cl, 57Co, 58Co, 59Fe, and 75Se.
It is also possible to detect the binding of detectably labeled antibodies by labeling the antibodies with a fluorescent compound. When a fluorescently labeled antibody is exposed to light of the proper wavelength, its presence then can be detected due to the fluorescence of the dye. Among the most commonly used fluorescent labeling compounds are fluorescein, isothiocyanate, rhodamine, phycoerythrin, phycocyanin, allophycocyanin, o-phthaldehyde, and fluorescamine.
The antibodies of the invention also can be detectably labeled using fluorescent emitting metals such as 152Eu, or others of the lanthanide series. These metals can be attached to the antibody molecule using such metal chelating groups as diethyl-enteriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA) or ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA).
Antibodies also can be detectably labeled by coupling them to a chemiluminescent compound. The presence of the chemiluminescent-tagged antibody is then determined by detecting the presence of luminescence that arises during the course of the chemical reaction. Examples of particularly useful chemiluminescent labeling compounds are luminal, isoluminol, theromatic acridinium ester, imidazole, acridinium salts, oxalate ester, and dioxetane.
Likewise, a bioluminescent compound may be used to label the antibodies according to the present invention. Bioluminescence is a type of chemiluminescence found in biological systems in which a catalytic protein increases the efficiency of the chemiluminescent reaction. The presence of a bioluminescent antibody is determined by detecting the presence of luminescence. Important bioluminescent compounds for purposes of labeling include luciferin and luciferase aequorin.
The antibodies and substantially purified antigen of the present invention are ideally suited for the preparation of a kit. Such a kit may comprise a carrier means being compartmentalized to receive in close confinement therewith one or more container means such as vials, tubes, and the like, each of said container means comprising the separate elements of the assay to be used.
The types of assays which can be incorporated in kit form are many and include, for example, competitive and non-competitive assays. Typical examples of assays which can utilize the antibodies of the invention are radioimmunoassays (RIA), enzyme immunoassays (EIA), enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA), and immunometric, or sandwich, immunoassays.
By the term xe2x80x9cimmunometric assayxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9csandwich immunoassay,xe2x80x9d it is meant to include simultaneous sandwich, forward sandwich, and reverse sandwich immunoassays. These terms are well understood by those skilled in the art. Those of skill will also appreciate that antibodies according to the present invention will be useful in other variations and forms of assays which are presently known or which may be developed in the future. These are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention.
In the preferred mode for performing the assays it is important that certain xe2x80x9cblockersxe2x80x9d be present in the incubation medium (usually added with the labeled soluble antibody). The xe2x80x9cblockersxe2x80x9d are added to assure that non-specific proteins, protease, or human antibodies to mouse immunoglobulins present in the experimental sample do not cross-link or destroy the antibodies on the solid phase support, or the radiolabeled indicator antibody, to yield false positive or false negative results. The selection of xe2x80x9cblockersxe2x80x9d therefore adds substantially to the specificity of the assays described in the present invention.
It has been found that a number of nonrelevant (i.e., nonspecific) antibodies of the same class or subclass (isotype) as those used in the assays (e.g., IgG1, IgG2a, IgM, etc.) can be used as xe2x80x9cblockers.xe2x80x9d The concentration of the xe2x80x9cblockersxe2x80x9d (normally 1-100 xcexcg/xcexcl) is important, in order to maintain the proper sensitivity yet inhibit any unwanted interference by mutually occurring cross-reactive proteins in human serum. In addition, the buffer system containing the xe2x80x9cblockersxe2x80x9d needs to be optimized. Preferred buffers are those based on weak organic acids, such as imidazole, HEPPS, MOPS, TES, ADA, ACES, HEPES, PIPES, TRIS, and the like, at physiological pH ranges. Somewhat less preferred buffers are inorganic buffers such as phosphate, borate, or carbonate. Finally, known protease inhibitors are preferably added (normally at 0.01-10 xcexcg/ml) to the buffer which contains the xe2x80x9cblockers.xe2x80x9d
There are many solid phase immunoadsorbents which have been employed and which can be used in the present invention. Well known immunoadsorbents include glass, polystyrene, polypropylene, dextran, nylon, and other materials, in the form of tubes, beads, and microtiter plates formed from or coated with such materials, and the like. The immobilized antibodies can be either covalently or physically bound to the solid phase immunoadsorbent, by techniques such as covalent bonding via an amide or ester linkage, or by absorption. Those skilled in the art will know many other suitable solid phase immunoadsorbents and methods for immobilizing antibodies thereon, or will be able to ascertain such, using no more than routine experimentation.
For in vivo, in vitro, or in situ diagnosis, labels such as radionuclides may be bound to antibodies according to the present invention either directly or by using an intermediary functional group. An intermediary group which is often used to bind radioisotopes which exist as metallic cations to antibodies is diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA). Typical examples of metallic cations which are bound in this manner are: 99mTc, 123I, 111IN, 131I, 97Ru, 67Cu, 67Ga, and 68Ga. The antibodies of the invention can also be labeled with non-radioactive isotopes for purposes of diagnosis. Elements which are particularly useful in this manner are 157Gd, 55Mn, 162Dy, 52Cr, and 56Fe.
The antigen of the invention may be isolated in substantially pure form employing antibodies according to the present invention. Thus, an embodiment of the present invention provides for substantially pure protein-tyrosine kinase chimera, said antigen characterized in that it is recognized by and binds to antibodies according to the present invention. In another embodiment, the present invention provides a method of isolating or purifying the chimeric receptor antigen, by forming a complex of said antigen with one or more antibodies directed against the receptor chimera.
The substantially pure chimera antigens of the present invention may in turn be used to detect or measure antibody to the chimera in a sample, such as serum or urine. Thus, one embodiment of the present invention comprises a method of detecting the presence or amount of antibody to protein-tyrosine kinase antigen in a sample, comprising contacting a sample containing an antibody to the chimeric antigen with detectably labeled receptor chimera, and detecting said label. It will be appreciated that immunoreactive fractions and immunoreactive analogues of the chimera also may be used. By the term xe2x80x9cimmunoreactive fractionxe2x80x9d is intended any portion of the chimeric antigen which demonstrates an equivalent immune response to an antibody directed against the receptor chimera. By the term xe2x80x9cimmunoreactive analoguexe2x80x9d is intended a protein which differs from the receptor chimera protein by one or more amino acids, but which demonstrates an equivalent immunoresponse to an antibody of the invention.
By xe2x80x9cspecifically recognizes and bindsxe2x80x9d is meant that the antibody recognizes and binds the chimeric receptor polypeptide but does not substantially recognize and bind other unrelated molecules in a sample, e.g., a biological sample.
By xe2x80x9cautoimmune-generated cellxe2x80x9d is meant cells producing antibodies that react with host tissue or immune effector T cells that are autoreactive; such cells include antibodies against acetylcholine receptors (leading, e.g., to myasthenia gravis) or anti-DNA, anti-erythrocyte, and anti-placelet autoantibodies (leading, e.g., to lupus erythematosus).
By xe2x80x9ctherapeutic cellxe2x80x9d is meant a cell which has been a transformed by a chimera of the invention so that it is capable of recognizing and destroying a specific infective agent, a cell infected by a specific agent, a tumor or cancerous cell, or an autoimmune-generated cell; preferably such therapeutic cells are cells of the hematopoietic system.
By a xe2x80x9ctarget infective agentxe2x80x9d is meant any infective agent (e.g., a virus, bacterium, protozoan, or fungus) which can be recognized by a chimeric receptor-bearing therapeutic cell. By a xe2x80x9ctarget cellxe2x80x9d is meant any host cell which can be recognized by a chimeric receptor-bearing therapeutic cell; target cells include, without limitation, host cells which are infected with a virus, bacterium, protozoan, or fungus as well as tumor or cancerous cells and auto-immunegenerated cells.
By xe2x80x9cextracellularxe2x80x9d is meant having at least a portion of the molecule exposed at the cell surface. By xe2x80x9cintracellularxe2x80x9d is meant having at least a portion of the molecule exposed to the therapeutic cell""s cytoplasm. By xe2x80x9ctransmembranexe2x80x9d is meant having at least a portion of the molecule spanning the plasma membrane. An xe2x80x9cextracellular portionxe2x80x9d, an xe2x80x9cintracellular portionxe2x80x9d, and xe2x80x9ctransmembrane portionxe2x80x9d, as used herein, may include flanking amino acid sequences which extend into adjoining cellular compartments.
By xe2x80x9coligomerizexe2x80x9d is meant to complex with other proteins to form diners, trimers, tetramers, or other higher order oligomers. Such oligomers may be homo-oligomers or hetero-oligomers. An xe2x80x9coligomerizing portionxe2x80x9d is that region of a molecule which directs complex (i.e., oligomer) formation.
By xe2x80x9ccytolyticxe2x80x9d is meant to be capable of destroying a cell (e.g., a cell infected with a pathogen, a tumor or cancerous cell, or an autoimmune-generated) cell or to be capable of destroying an infective agent (e.g., a virus).
By xe2x80x9cimmunodeficiency virusxe2x80x9d is meant a retrovirus that, in wild-type form, is capable of infecting T4 cells of a primate host and possesses a viral morphogenesis and morphology characteristic of the lentivirus subfamily. The term includes, without limitation, all variants of HIV and SIV, including HIV-1, HIV-2, SIVmac, SIVagm, SIVmnd, SIVsmm, SIVman, S1Vmand, and SIVcpz.
By xe2x80x9cMHC-independentxe2x80x9d is meant that the cellular cytolytic response does not require the presence of an MHC class II antigen on the surface of the targeted cell.
By a xe2x80x9cfunctional cytolytic signal-transducing derivativexe2x80x9d is meant a functional derivative (as defined above) which is capable of directing at least 10%, preferably 40%, more preferably 70%, or most preferably at least 90% of the biological activity of the wild type molecule. As used herein, a xe2x80x9cfunctional cytolytic signal-transducing derivativexe2x80x9d may act by directly signaling the therapeutic cell to destroy a receptor-bound agent or cell (e.g., in the case of an intracellular chimeric receptor portion) or may act indirectly by promoting oligomerization with cytolytic signal transducing proteins of the therapeutic cell (e.g., in the case of a transmembrane domain). Such derivatives may be tested for efficacy, e.g., using the in vitro assays described herein.
By a xe2x80x9cfunctional HIV envelope-binding derivativexe2x80x9d is meant a functional derivative (as defined above) which is capable of binding any HIV envelope protein. Functional derivatives may be identified using, e.g., the in vitro assays described herein.
Therapeutic Administration
The transformed cells of the present invention may be used for the therapy of a number of diseases. Current methods of administering such transformed cells involve adoptive immunotherapy or cell-transfer therapy. These methods allow the return of the transformed immune-system cells to the bloodstream. Rosenberg, Sci. Am. 62 (May 1990); Rosenberg et al., N. Engl. J. Med. 323:570 (1990).
The pharmaceutical compositions of the invention may be administered to any animal which may experience the beneficial effects of the compounds of the invention. Foremost among such animals are humans, although the invention is not intended to be so limited.
The drawings will first be described.